Western Flyer Open House & Tours

In March of 1940, Ed Ricketts and John Steinbeck traveled to the Gulf of California aboard the Western Flyer for a six-week voyage collecting specimens to catalogue the marine life in the Sea of Cortez. This expedition and resulting book, Sea of Cortez: A Leisurely Journal of Travel and Research, marked the first public call for environmental conservation in the region.

Celebrate the Flyer's remarkable return to the Gulf of California, including a special Long Beach stop, marking 85 years since Steinbeck and Ricketts's iconic 1940 expedition! This historic journey will retrace original intertidal sites, venture into new areas, and collect valuable observational data in collaboration with local researchers and students.

Long Beach residents will have an opportunity to visit the ship while she is in Rainbow Harbor and Alamitos Bay!

On Saturday, March 22, public tours will be held at:

• Rainbow Harbor, Dock 4 near the Aquarium of the Pacific, 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM
• Alamitos Bay, public long dock at the end of Appian Way, 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM